NOAH
“How is she?” Jeremy asked the second I closed the door to her room. Scarlett had fallen asleep soon after I told her to rest. Her recovery was far more important than anything else. She was starting to remember pieces, which scared him and excited me. But I was concerned that she would remember suddenly. We didn’t want that. There was too much time left. If she found out the truth now, she would never come with me.
“Acting strange,” I replied.
“She’s always weird.”
I sat down next to him on the seats opposite Scarlett’s room. “All right then, more strange. She kept talking about some dreams she had. Apparently in Scarlett’s head, you chase girls.” I smirked at him. “I won’t tell Amie.” He rolled his eyes. “Do you know someone called Evelyn?”
Jeremy froze. “Evelyn?”
He knew her.
“Yes, that’s the name Scarlett gave. Do you know her?”
After a pause, he replied, “Not really. Scarlett had a doll called Evelyn when she was really little. I think that was its name anyway. It was lost in the fire.”
I laughed on cue. “So you chase girl dolls in her dreams.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“She was talking about her like she’s a person though.”
“You said yourself that she’s strange.”
“Right,” I replied, nodding. “She just seemed upset over it, so I thought I should ask. She must remember the doll and her mind created a person.”
“Yep,” he replied, his posture visibly stiffening in front of me. He was worried.
“She okay in there alone?”
“Yes. She’s sleeping.”
“Good. Look, I’m going back down to meet the folks. They’re getting even more magazines for her.”
I stood up. “Sure. I need to get home anyway. I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Tell her I’ll call later.”
“Will do. Later, Noah.”
“Bye, Jeremy.”
I walked out of the hospital feeling about twenty pounds lighter now that I knew she was all right. But I was left with an uneasy sense of relief that she was remembering.
My dad was waiting for me in the parking lot. “Hi,” I said as I got in.
“Is she all right?”
“Yes, she’s fine. She’s awake and her usual self.”
I should tell him about her memories. It was a big deal and something Eternal Light would need to know, but the image of her eyes fluttering up at me and her face breaking into a smile stopped me. I told myself that it didn’t really matter because she was confused and remembered very little. They could be passed off as dreams for now.
“Thank goodness,” he said and breathed a sigh of relief. “We wanted to stay all day with you but thought that might look strange.”
“Yes, that’s fine. I was all right, and it gave me plenty of opportunity to watch Jonathan and Marissa.” They played the concerned parents so well. Of course, I understood that they’d brought her up since she was four and, as far as they were concerned, they were her parents, but they knew better. They were lying to hospital staff, giving false information and fake identification for Scarlett, yet they were still so calm.
“And?”
I shrugged. “Nothing out of the ordinary. You would never know they weren’t her parents. They seem to love her the same as Jeremy.”
“They are not her parents,” Dad said.
“I know.”
He shook his head, frowning. “I’m sorry, Noah. Being out here puts me on edge. I don’t like it.”
“Neither do I. It’s hard to keep up the pretense every single day, but it will be worth it.”
“It will, Son. I’m proud of you, you know? I was unsure to begin with. Not that I didn’t think you could do this, but it is a big task and I know you are a good person. You hate dishonesty and Jonathan, Marissa, and Jeremy are lying to Scarlett every day. But you have really come through, and it won’t be long until we are home with her and can get back to normal. Nothing about the way people live out here is normal. Absolutely nothing.”
I’d started to doubt that. But I couldn’t say that to my father. “You’re right,” I replied, only half lying.
There were certain things, sure. People called themselves free when they were governed and bound by so many laws. They worked forty-plus hours a week, and most still struggled, gave up a portion of their money, and followed what society expected. That was the furthest thing from being free, but they still went on fooling themselves. They believed they had a voice, but they didn’t use it past voting for someone they knew was lying to them anyway. It made absolutely no sense. Democracy. Freedom. Bullshit.
It was beyond stupid, the amount of rubbish people fed themselves, but they valued human life in a way that Eternal Life did not. Scarlett would be protected out here. I couldn’t help question my own attitude toward human life. If I was successful, Scarlett wouldn’t be safe. I would be hurting her, allowing Eternal Light to hurt her.
How was I going to watch Donald drive a knife through her chest?